Meat and Poultry Special Investigator Act of 2022

Floor Speech

Mr. Speaker, my amendment would authorize a new program at the Department of Agriculture to reduce our reliance on foreign sources of fertilizer. It is to make sure that America will be more self- sufficient and that our farmers will be more self-sufficient with our fertilizers and not dependent on Russia or foreign countries.

Everyone knows that retail fertilizer costs are at an all-time high. Putin's invasion of Ukraine is driving severe food shortages and severe fertilizer shortages. This has driven up food prices and hurt American farmers and consumers across the country. In my district, food prices are up and fertilizer prices are up.

The cost of agricultural chemicals has more than doubled since the start of the pandemic, and one of the reasons is Russia is a major exporter of nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorus fertilizers.

We need to be less dependent on countries like Russia, and we need to develop these fertilizers here in the United States. That is why Congress must act on a bipartisan basis.

This amendment is common sense. It would authorize $100 million for grants, loans, research and development, and other assistance for the Department of Agriculture to support our farmers in developing fertilizer made in the United States.

It will support sustainable and innovative domestic production of fertilizers because our fertilizers are far more sustainable and far more innovative than the fertilizers we get from other parts of the world.

It will invest in practices that reduce the use of fertilizers. One of the best things we can do for food prices and our environment is to reduce the need for fertilizers by having those fertilizers be more innovative.

The amendment also bolsters competition in the fertilizer market.

Most important, it makes us less dependent on the Russians and less dependent on the global supply chain. It will create jobs for domestic producers of fertilizers.

The Department of Agriculture is already supporting American-made fertilizers through the Commodity Credit Corporation. My amendment will expand the Department's authority so they can prioritize solutions that will most quickly address these shortages.

Mr. Speaker, I urge adoption of this amendment. I thank Chairman Scott for working with me on this amendment. I also thank the Agriculture Committee staff of Anne Simmons, Lyron Blum-Evitts, Prescott Martin, Josh Lobert, and Luke Theriot for their work, and Kevin Fox on my team.

I respect the ranking member. We have worked together on a number of initiatives.

I would just say that this amendment, by giving the Commodity Credit Corporation resources, is helping make things in America. Whether it is immediate or whether it is over the next few months, we should have a bipartisan consensus that we ought to be making more things in this country and be less dependent on Russia and foreign sources.

While I urge a ``yes'' vote on this amendment, I also hope that we can continue to work with the other side to find common ground over this Congress so that we can get bipartisan support for an effort to build more fertilizer in the United States.

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